Ducks fly together! The original Mighty Ducks film quacked its way into movie lover’s hearts in 1992 and nearly three decades later, it still has a dedicated fanbase.
The Mighty Ducks, which starred Emilio Estevez as Coach Gordon Bombay, made hockey cool nationwide — and inspired some fans to quack in class when they didn’t get their way. After Gordon gets into legal trouble, he is ordered to coach a peewee hockey team — the Ducks — in a league against his former childhood team, the Hawks.
With the help of Minnesota hockey hopeful Charlie Conway (Joshua Jackson), Gordon rounds up a motley crew to play on his team. Throughout the film, the players — including Goldberg (Shaun Weiss), who is a goalie that can’t stop falling down, ringer Fulton Reed (Elden Henson) and former Hawks player Adam Banks (Vincent LaRusso) — bond under the support and guidance of coach Bombay.
The ‘90s film’s success led to two sequels, D2: The Mighty Ducks and D3: The Mighty Ducks. In the second movie, the Ducks represent Team USA in the Junior Goodwill Games and add a few new players, including Portman (Aaron Lohr), who helps make up the Bash Brothers with Fulton.
The third film, which hit theaters in 1996, followed the teammates as they went off to prep school and tried to one-up the varsity team. Over the years, the cast of the trilogy has shown its staying power during fan events and by sparking excitement whenever they reunite in person.
In 2014, the D2: Mighty Ducks stars got together to celebrate its 20th anniversary and recreated the team’s iconic “Flying V” formation on a tennis court. The gang posted photos from the hangout, including a snap of Marguerite Moreau, who played Connie in all three films, and Garrett Henson, who played her onscreen boyfriend, Guy Germaine.
Five years later, there was another Ducks reunion that took place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, home of the NHL team the Anaheim Ducks. The cast donned their original movie jerseys while attending the hockey game and posing for photos.
“Spent the week reflecting on friendship and family. We came of age together under very special circumstances and are so appreciative of all the fans who have loved #TheMightyDucks #D2 and #D3,” Moreau wrote via Instagram alongside a series of photo of her former costars in February 2019. “🦆🦆DUCKS FLY TOGETHER. 🦆🦆 Thank you @anaheimducks for having us. It was a great week.”
Fans got the ultimate reunion in 2021 when the hockey team’s legacy continued on Disney+’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. While the show will feature all new peewee hockey players, Estevez reprised his role as coach Bombay.
“I really appreciated Emilio. He had an incredibly positive impact on my life,” Elden told Us Weekly exclusively in April 2021. “As I got older and I worked with kids, I just thought, ‘Man, what a saint.’ He is, like, never in a bad mood. He was always so kind and he really engaged with each one of us individually. I’m still blown away by him.”
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Scroll down to see what the OG Ducks have been up to since the film’s 1992 release.
